A tuna melt that tastes like pizza: canned tuna cooked with peppers, spinach, pizza sauce and cheese, piled on toasted bread. Each sandwich is 28.5g of protein for 361 calories.

Cooking the tuna with the sauce and cheese, rather than mixing it cold, gives you a warm, melty pizza-sub feel.

Ingredients

  • Canned flaked light tuna — 1 can, ~120 g, drained [P 26 C 0 F 1]
  • Bread — 4 slices (whole wheat) [P 16 C 60 F 4]
  • Low-fat cheese — ¼ cup (mozzarella) [P 9 C 2 F 6]
  • Pasta or pizza sauce — ¼ cup [P 2 C 6 F 0]
  • Red bell pepper — ½, chopped
  • Spinach — ½ cup, chopped
  • Onion — 1 small, chopped
  • Minced garlic — 1 tbsp
  • Hot sauce — 1 tsp
  • Olive oil — 1 tsp (or spray)
  • Salt, pepper, chilli powder, paprika, oregano, cumin — to taste

Method

  1. Cook the base. Drain the tuna and cook with the pepper, onion, garlic and spices 3 minutes until the veg softens.
  2. Melt. Add the spinach, pasta sauce, cheese and hot sauce; mix until melty.
  3. Build. Toast the bread and pile on the tuna mix.

What to eat it with

  • Turkey bacon — an optional protein add.
  • A side salad.
  • Chilli flakes.

Variations

  • In a tortilla or over rice instead of bread.
  • Spicier: more chilli or hot sauce.
  • Extra cheese (adds calories).

Honest notes

  • Fibre: about 6g a sandwich, from the whole-wheat bread and veg.
  • Bread varies: a dense loaf pushes carbs up.
  • Macros: reconcile with the per-sandwich 361 cal / 28.5g protein listed; no correction needed.